Mississippi State hosts UL Monroe. The market has Mississippi State favored by 28.5.
What’s at stake
Mississippi State
- Mississippi State sits at 2% to make the CFP field — 2% with a win here, 1% with a loss.
- Mississippi State is the program with the loudest cowbells in the SEC and the longest patience with the football product underneath.
UL Monroe
- A win would be one of UL Monroe’s biggest of the season — a 78-spot gap in the power ratings.
The series
Mississippi State leads the series 4-1-1
6 meetings since 1972 · Mississippi State has won the last 2
- 1997Mississippi State 24–10
- 1996Mississippi State 59–0
- 1995UL Monroe 34–32
- 1989Mississippi State 28–14
- 1973Tie 21–21
Face-off
What each fanbase carries into this one.
UL Monroe
The chip · vs the blue bloodsULM fans know the power-conference programs schedule them as a paycheck and a guaranteed win — and they'll remind you the Warhawks once cashed that check the other way, walking into an SEC stadium and walking out with the upset of the year.
What this game touches
Living on one upset. ULM's defining modern memory — the 2012 overtime win over #8 Arkansas, 'The Shock in Little Rock' — is now thirteen-plus years old, and the program has mostly struggled since. A 3-9 (1-7 Sun Belt) finish in 2025, Bryant Vincent's second year, was the latest reminder that the magic Saturday hasn't had many sequels.
Mississippi State
The chip · vs big brotherFans are tired of being treated as the lesser team in their own state — a different school with a different identity, an engineering university with the loudest crowd in the league, told every November that the Egg Bowl is the rivalry that defines them.
What this game touches
The Lebby holding pattern. Jeff Lebby went 2-10 in 2024, then 5-8 in 2025 — his first SEC win didn't come until November 1 against Arkansas, and the year ended with a Duke's Mayo Bowl loss to Wake Forest. A loyal base is being asked, again, to wait for the floor to lift.
Best players
Mississippi State
- Jahron Manning (S) · 2025: 91 tackles
- Nic Mitchell (LB) · 2025: 78 tackles
- Anthony Evans III (WR) · 2025: 831 receiving yards
UL Monroe
- Noah Flemmings (LB) · 2025: 80 tackles
- Jabari Tiller (DB) · 2025: 46 tackles
- Zachary Palmer-Smith (RB) · 2025: 660 rushing yards
The line, and the room
The model and the market don’t fully agree on Mississippi State’s chances here.
Home −28.5 · O/U 54.5
Conditions
93°F · 4 mph wind · Rain Shower
Mississippi State is 56% at home, 32% on the road since 2018 (31-24 home, 12-26 away).